Manika Batra has became the first Indian woman table tennis player to reach the quarterfinals of an elite WTT event after defeating world number 14 Nina Mittelham at the Grand Smash event.
After upsetting world number two Wang Manyu in the second round, Batra continued her hot streak in Saudi Arabia with an 11-6 11-9 11-7 victory over her German opponent in just 22 minutes on Wednesday.
It was Batra’s first victory over Mittelham in four attempts, and she will now play another strong opponent, world number five Hina Hayata of Japan, on Thursday evening. The Indian will be confident in her ability to defeat Hayata, having stunned the Japanese to win a historic bronze medal at the Asia Cup in 2022.
“I’m feeling really proud with myself that I played my best game today after beating Wang Manyu. That match was really important to me and I was happy and excited so I had to keep myself calm for this match,” Batra, 28, said.
“Everything is going right here. Everything in my room, in my practice session, in my match; so I think I love this country! This is my first quarterfinals in a Smash so I’m really thankful to everyone that was there to cheer and my practice partner for coaching me and my coach in India,” she stated.
Batra, who is presently rated 39, is expected to break into the top 25 after a successful week here.
Batra stunned China’s Wang on Monday by defeating Romania’s Andreea Dragoman in the first round, her maiden victory at a Grand Smash tournament.
